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From the Guardian archive

Historical articles from the Guardian, selected by @guardianlibrary. To explore over 200 years of history see our page on accessing past articles

  • Ancient yew trees in Kingley Vale, West Sussex.

    Country diary 1974: darkness at noon in Kingley Vale

    19 July 1974: The grove of ancient yew trees formed a canopy so dense that no sunlight entered
  • The Beatles leaving the aircraft at Liverpool airport for the northern premiere of A Hard Day's Night, 10 July 1964.

    The Beatles’ triumphant return to Liverpool – archive, 1964

    11 July 1964: Crowds line the streets as the four musicians visit their home city for the northern premiere of A Hard Day’s Night
  • Alan Shearer scores a penalty in the Euro 1996 clash against the Netherlands at Wembley.

    Euro 1996: England’s dreams all come true as Netherlands outgunned by Shearer and Sheringham

    19 June 1996 The tournament hosts produced one of their most thrilling performances in years to reach the quarter-finals
  • Grey heron in flight attacking a small group of crows.

    Country diary 1924: birds of a feather work together

    8 July 1924: Sometimes the cooperation is that of a robber band and I have seen two crows steal from a heron in this way
  • French prime ministerJacques Chirac (L), speaks with  Socialist President Francois Mitterrand during the annual Bastille Day military parade in an undated picture.

    Cohabitation government begins in France – archive, 1986

    In March 1986, Socialist President Francois Mitterrand appointed centre-right leader Jacques Chirac as prime minister after losing the parliamentary elections
  • Herdwick sheep which have jumped over drystone walls in the Borrowdale valley in the Lake District.

    Country diary 1949: it’s a hard life for the flockmaster and dog

    4 July 1949: Up at four o’clock, the climbing of the mountain and search for and gathering the sheep can take three hours
  • NASA image from 2000 showing the largest ever ozone hole over Antarctica.

    The vanishing ozone layer – archive, 1974

    On 28 June 1974, chemists at the University of California published the first report that warned that CFCs could damage the Earth’s ozone layer
  • A pair of crossbills, perched on a pine twig.

    Country diary 1974: birdwatching in Mallorca

    24 June 1974: Beyond the concrete, things began to happen – two crossbills started to crack cones above my head and a magnificent booted eagle soared up out of the valley
  • Henri Charrière, Papillon (1906-1973), former convict and French writer, circa 1969.

    Henri Charrière: Papillon de Pigalle – archive, 1969

    21 June 1969: The Parisian literary scene has a new idol in the form of an ex-convict who has written about his escape from infamous French penal colony, Devil’s Island
  • Swarm of busy black ants (Lasius niger) in a UK garden.

    Country diary 1924: the never-ending war on ants

    21 June 1924: One seems to be always slaughtering something in the exercise of the gentle gardener’s craft
  • Views of chalk downlands on edge of  the Chiltern Hills, Ashridge Estate, Buckinghamshire, England.

    Country diary 1949: the changing face of the Chilterns

    15 June 1949: A long slope – among whose stones, thistles and ragwort stone-curlews used to nest – is now green with young corn
  • The last image of George Mallory, left, and Sandy Irvine leaving for the North Col of Everest.

    George Mallory and Sandy Irvine killed on Everest – archive, 1924

    The two climbers were last seen alive on the north-east ridge of the mountain on 8 June 1924
  • Workers prepare the Tuileries Garden for spring, Paris, France, 1964.

    Country diary 1924: scything skills on display in Paris

    9 June 1924: The use of a grass cutting machine is uncommon even in the city’s public parks
  • A used postage stamp from the UK, marking the European Assembly Elections, circa 1979.

    Banging the nationalist drum in Europe – archive, 7 June 1979

    7 June 1979: John Palmer examines the voters’ mood on the eve of polling for the first direct elections to the European parliament
  • Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) single bird probing dead kelp stem for invertebrate prey at low tide on sandy beach, Northumberland, England.

    Country diary 1924: dead seaweed is not always a safe refuge

    30 May 1924: We watched a turnstone throwing over the dead weed and pouncing on as many light-surprised refugees as it could catch
  • Bee hives with a backdrop of Didcot A coal-fired power station.

    Country diary 1974: nectar-rich weeds a thing of the past

    22 May 1974: After a lifelong association with hives and swarms I gave up bee keeping mainly because of agricultural progress
  • Looking down on Longsleddale, Lake District.

    Country diary 1974: a new staircase to the heights

    13 May 1974: Not mentioned in any guide book, this natural route to the summit seems to have been missed by all but the ravens
  • Joe Orton (R) with Dudley Sutton (Mr Sloane) and Madge Ryan (Kath), rehearse his play Entertaining Mr Sloane at the Wyndham Theatre, 1964.

    Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane reviewed – archive, 1964

    7 May 1964: Orton’s first play is a ‘milk-curdling essay in lower-middle-class nihilism’
  • Common Otter (Lutra lutra) feeding on fish, Thetford, Norfolk, UK.

    Country diary 1924: the taste of the otter is catholic

    9 May 1924: Fish or fowl or the flesh of rabbit or water-vole are all welcome
  • A police constable looks on as a cyclist rides alongside a horse bus (omnibus), London 1895. Illustration for Cycling, Badmington Library, London, 1895. Artist Stephen T Dadd.

    Cycling notes: speeding machines and rim damage – archive, 1899

    1 May 1899: The Guardian’s weekly cycling column questions a police officer’s evidence in a speeding cyclist case and reassures riders that brake blocks cause little damage to rims
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